Overview
This Writing and Grammar Skills
Training class is for business professionals who may be intimidated by writing
because they are unsure of their grammar, punctuation, and spelling skills as
well as overall basic writing skills. This class is designed to take the
mystery out of writing and help business people apply proper writing styles to
their written business communication.
Goals
1. Understand
the importance of proper writing and grammar.
2. Recognize
and use correct grammar and punctuation.
3. Avoid
common grammatical and word usage errors.
4. Understand
which words should be capitalized.
5. Use
the appropriate person and tense.
6. Structure
sentences correctly.
7. Use
the words you intend.
8. Use
the correct style and tone for your intended audience.
9. Avoid
biased language.
10.
Create documents that are free of spelling and grammatical
errors.
Outline
1. Why
Proper Writing and Correct Grammar Are Essential for Successful Business
Writing
1. Exercise:
Why Proper Writing and Correct Grammar Are Essential for Successful Business
Writing
2. Basic
Grammar Rules
1. Parts
of Speech
1. Nouns
2. Pronouns
3. Verbs
4. Adjectives
5. Adverbs
6. Prepositions
7. Conjunctions
8. Interjections
2. Exercise:
Parts of Speech
3. Subject-verb
Agreement
4. Exercise:
Subject-verb Agreement
5. Parallel
Construction
6. Exercise:
Parallel Construction
7. Complete
versus Run-on Sentences
8. Exercise:
Complete versus Run-on Sentences
9. Hypercorrection
1. Common
Hypercorrections
2. When
It Is Okay to Use "Me"
3. When
It Is Okay to Use "Myself"
10.
Exercise: Hypercorrection
3. Punctuation
1. Periods
2. Exercise:
Periods
3. Commas
4. Exercise:
Commas
5. Colons
and Semicolons
6. Exercise:
Colons and Semicolons
7. Apostrophes,
Single Quotation Marks, and Double Quotation Marks
8. Exercise:
Apostrophes, Single Quotation Marks, and Double Quotation Marks
9. Question
Marks and Exclamation Points
10.
Exercise: Question Marks and Exclamation Points
11.
Dashes and Hyphens
12.
Exercise: Dashes and Hyphens
13.
Parenthetical Elements
1. Parentheses
2. Brackets
14.
Exercise: Parenthetical Elements
4. Word
Usage
1. Assessing
Tone and Jargon in Your Writing
1. What
Is the Appropriate Tone for the Document: Formal or Informal?
2. How
Familiar Is Your Audience with the Language (Jargon) of the industry?
3. Does
Your Audience Need to Be Persuaded, or Is It Already on Board with the Topic?
4. What
Do You Want the Audience to Do after Reading the Document?
2. Exercise:
Assessing Tone and Jargon
3. Look
It Up: Using a Dictionary for Proper Spelling and Usage
4. Exercise:
Using a Dictionary for Proper Spelling and Usage
5. Commonly
Confused Words
6. Exercise:
Commonly Confused Words
5. Capitalization
1. Words
That Are Always Capitalized
2. Exercise:
Words That Are Always Capitalized
3. Words
That Are Never Capitalized
4. Exercise:
Words That Are Never Capitalized
5. Headings
and Titles
6. Exercise:
Headings and Titles
6. Choosing
the Correct "Person" and "Tense"
1. Three
Types of "Persons"
2. When
to Write in the First Person
3. Exercise:
When to Write in the First Person
4. When
to Write in the Second Person
5. Exercise:
When to Write in the Second Person
6. When
to Write in the Third Person
7. Exercise:
When to Write in the Third Person
8. Using
Correct Tenses in Business Writing
1. How
to Use the Past Tense in Business Writing
9. Exercise:
How to Use the Past Tense in Business Writing
10.
How to Use the Present Tense in Business Writing
11.
Exercise: How to Use the Present Tense in Business Writing
12.
How to Use the Future Tense in Business Writing
13.
Exercise: How to Use the Future Tense in Business Writing
7. Sentence
Structure
1. Simple
Sentences
2. Exercise:
Simple Sentences
3. Compound
Sentences
4. Exercise:
Compound Sentences
5. Complex
Sentences
6. Exercise:
Complex Sentences
7. Compound-Complex
Sentences
8. Exercise:
Compound-Complex Sentences
8. Proofreading
Your Work
1. Ensuring
Your Writing Is Error Free
2. Reviewing
and Proofreading
3. Exercise:
Ensuring Your Writing Is Error Free
4. Ensuring
Consistency in Your Writing
5. Exercise:
Ensuring Consistency in Your Writing
6. Exercise:
Proofreading a Document
7. Using
Spell Checkers
8. Exercise:
Using Spell Checkers
9. Using
Grammar Checkers
10.
Exercise: Using Grammar Checkers
9. Writing
Styles and Tone
1. Formal
Business Writing
2. Exercise:
Formal Business Writing
3. Informal
Business Writing
4. Exercise:
Informal Business Writing
5. Diction
6. Exercise:
Diction
10.
Writing Clearly and Concisely
1. All-inclusive
Language
1. Salutations
in Letters
2. Pronouns
3. Names
and Titles
4. Gender-free
Language
2. Including
Everyone for the Sake of Gaining Buy-in
3. Exercise:
All-inclusive Language
4. Getting
to the Heart of the Message
5. Exercise:
Getting to the Heart of the Message
6. Omitting
Unnecessary Words
7. Exercise:
Omitting Unnecessary Words
8. Jargon
9. Exercise:
Avoiding Meaningless Phrases
10.
Using Paragraphs Correctly
1. Expository
Paragraph
2. Persuasive
Paragraph
3. Descriptive
Paragraph
4. Narrative
Paragraph
5. Paragraph
Length
11.
Exercise: Using Paragraphs Correctly
